So I'm still going with this story and a huge thanks to everyone who is still sticking with it and reviewing and following and favoriting. I did get a PM from a reader who hadn't realized there had been an update and I have a feeling my indecisiveness about whether to continue with this story or start a new one may have been confusing. But I am continuing, although you could consider this chapter as the start of part two of the story.
As always apologies for the mistakes – I proof it myself which is hard so I do miss things. Also there is quite a bit of detail about an autopsy in this chapter and I won't pretend to know much about this subject but I've done my best to be accurate. If anyone stumbled across the search history on my computer they might wonder.
To the Guest who'd like to see Gail support Holly through a dangerous or difficult situation - I like that idea and will work on it. The problem is thinking of a scenario that hasn't already been used by other Golly writers. I do have plans for Holly to encounter a slight problem at work but Gail's intervention might not be all that helpful!
Mcp28 - Gracias. Estoy tan contento te gustó esta historia . Como se puede ver, hay más por venir.
(I put that in google translate so hopefully it makes sense – I'm only fluent in English so I am always so impressed and amazed by readers who are reading this in a second language.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue or any of the characters, except I suppose the new ones I've introduced in this story.
And thanks to Snarcasm for a timely reminder about medical jurisprudence.
Hope you enjoy and you know I absolutely love to hear what you think of this so let me know!
….
Breaking Through: Part Two
Gail watched as Rodney approached where she stood by the street entrance to the pedestrian walkway of the coach terminal. The two new interns, Wilson and Natasha, followed him closely. Wilson was a mousy looking guy and the contrast between he and Natasha couldn't have been more striking. Even in her tyvek suit, Natasha turned heads. The terminal manager and janitor stood staring with mouths slightly agape and Gail noticed Duncan keenly track Natasha's progress from the forensic van, which Rodney had parked a little further down the street.
The interns were supposed to spend their first few weeks on the job with Holly, but she was in San Francisco giving evidence in a trial. It was the first time she and Gail had been apart since Holly had returned to Toronto nearly four months ago. Holly had been certain she'd be back in Toronto well before the interns started. It was a straightforward case. In fact the prosecutor was convinced the accused would plea out and Holly thought she'd only be gone for two, maybe three days. Then the defense decided to call in their own forensic expert who questioned Holly's findings. Two days had turned into twelve. Finally last night a guilty verdict had been brought down and Holly had managed to book a seat on the 7.20am flight out of San Francisco this morning.
Gail looked at her watch. Three pm. Holly was due to land shortly. She had promised to make Holly dinner and run a relaxing bath and then give her a massage to soothe the tensions of the trial. She'd even bought a vanilla scented bath bomb and the most amazing massage oil. Then there was going to be sex. Lots and lots of sex. Gail had even persuaded Chloe to stay at Dov's for the night so she and Holly could have the house to themselves.
The best-laid plans of mice and men and all that, Gail sighed. The janitor just had to notice a rancid smell coming from the bank of lockers lining the narrow walkway that led from terminal to the coach bays, and the terminal manager just had to investigate. There was no way she was getting home in time for dinner or anytime soon after that. She'd already sent a text to Holly saying she couldn't collect her from the airport.
'Dr Stewart is going to be pissed she missed this,' Gail said, as Rodney reached her.
He nodded in agreement. 'Body in a suitcase. It's the first time I've had one of these.'
'Yeah, I don't think Doctor Stewart has ticked that off her bucket list of grisly, bizarre and unusual cases,' Gail said, making air quotes around the word case.
Rodney gave a little laugh.
'Yeah, I know bad pun.' Gail lifted the crime scene tape that had been strung across the entrance and led Rodney about half way down the walkway to where a pink Samsonite suitcase had been placed. It was one of those hard shell ones. Newish. The lid was shut but the two latches, both with inbuilt combination locks, had clearly been forced open.
'I suspect this won't be an open and shut case,' Gail said, as she gestured to the suitcase. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
'You really should pack away those jokes, Detective,' Chloe said.
'Well, as you know Detective Price, I've always carried a lot of baggage,' Gail replied and as Chloe groaned, she nodded in the direction of Natasha and the other intern, 'you got the minions today, Dr Carlowski.'
Rodney nodded. Wilson and Natasha had that newbie look that was equal parts apprehension and excitement. As far as Gail knew, this was their first outing to a crime scene since starting their internship a week ago.
'And you've been partnered with Detective Price,' Rodney said.
'Yeah. Detective Anderson's on vacation. She isn't back for a couple of days,' Gail explained.
It had been Oliver's decision to pair her and Chloe while Frankie was away. When Gail had run into her mother in the corridor at 15 a few days ago, Elaine had said she assumed it was only a temporary arrangement. Then she added, her lips drawn in a thin line, 'you know my opinion about you and Price being partnered.'
The fact was, though, Gail and Chloe worked well together. Chloe was smart and quick and a little quirky. It meant she could follow and interpret Gail's sometimes unconventional and seemingly haphazard thought trains, and while Gail pretended to hate her bubbliness, in reality Chloe's positivity was a nice foil for her own tendency towards cynicism.
'So what have we got here?' Rodney asked.
'Janitor noticed a strange odor coming from the locker yesterday. By this afternoon, he decided it smelt like something had died. He got the manager to unlock it and found the suitcase. Idiots opened it up in full view of the public. They thought they'd find an animal.'
'So they didn't move it, once they opened it?'
'No, between them I think they've watched enough of CSI to know not to disturb a crime scene.'
Rodney chuckled and then stopped himself.
'You and Dr Stewart have totally geeked out over all the forensic inaccuracies in that show, haven't you?' Gail said, barely able to contain her glee.
When Rodney didn't reply, she fixed him with the kind of hard stare she used on perps who refused to confess. Caving, Rodney nodded a little sheepishly.
'I knew it. I am so totally going to pay Holly out for this.' Gail said excitedly,
forgetting for a moment to refer to Holly by her professional title.
They both did that at work. She was Detective Peck and Holly was Doctor Stewart. It was a small thing but Gail insisted it helped them retain a professional distance in the workplace, well at least when others were present.
Holly had wholeheartedly agreed that they should absolutely avoid blurring their relationship with work, at least as much as was possible. However, when she found herself tumbling out of Gail's bed, having spent the night before pressed against her girlfriend's gloriously naked body, and not an hour later was facing Gail across a crime scene, Holly couldn't help but feel something of a thrill, an almost illicit delight, that Gail's formality with her in that moment was just a front, and that she alone was privy to the private Gail. That she knew every inch of Gail's body and a fair bit about how her mind worked as well. That this gorgeous, unpredictable, snarky, sexy as hell extraordinary woman was her girlfriend.
Not that Holly had admitted this to Gail. She wasn't sure why. Gail would probably tease her and tell her she wasn't trying hard enough to focus on the job. The thing was it was sometimes exceedingly difficult for Holly not to let her mind wander when only a matter of hours before Gail had been pulling her in close and calling out her name as she came over and over. And yep, with Gail multiple orgasms were totally a thing and that knowledge on its own was enough to make Holly smile to herself.
If Rodney noticed Gail's slip up with Holly's name he didn't show it. He was used to the two women moving from formal to more familiar terms of address depending on the situation. Frankly he didn't know how they managed to sustain it so well. Especially when it was plain to see how crazy in love the two of them were, even if they tried to conceal it. He'd catch the little glances and the private smiles Holly and Gail couldn't help but exchange when they thought no one was looking.
'So how long before the scene was secured?' Rodney asked, keen to move past the admission about CSI. Holly wouldn't thank him for it. She'd said Gail would mock them mercilessly if she found out they watched the show just to pick it apart.
'We got lucky. An off duty officer from 27 was picking up his daughter from the Montreal bus. He made the manager clear out the walkway and secured the scene until our guys arrived.'
'The terminal manger said they sometimes have several thousand passengers through here in a day,' Chloe added, 'So I wouldn't count on getting anything from the walkway.'
'I guessed as much. Let's take a look at the suitcase then,' Rodney said, motioning for the two interns to come closer. He bent over the suitcase and carefully flipped the lid.
Natasha let out a soft gasp but then leaned in for a closer look. A woman had been folded neatly into the suitcase so she was in a fetal position. She was fully clothed, although shoeless and Gail could make out a tattoo on her left foot. Her back was aligned along one side of the case, her head tucked into a corner with her knees up under her chin.
A plastic bag had been placed over her head and tied tightly around her neck with what appeared to be a cord from a bathrobe. It was this – the plastic bag – that had made Natasha gasp. More than anything, even the fact of being stuffed in a suitcase – it was this that spoke of the violence of the woman's death.
A tangle of black hair hid her face so they couldn't immediately see a signs of suffocation. Incongruously, the woman's hands were placed to form a sort of pillow beneath her head. It was such a familiar position of repose that had she not been so unceremoniously crammed in a suitcase with a plastic bag over her head she could have been napping. Her top was pushed up revealing a slightly rounded belly. Three, maybe four months pregnant, Gail guessed. Rodney sighed heavily.
'Well, we can rule out fare evasion,' Gail said, but there was no mirth in her voice. 'This was one journey this victim didn't want to take.'
'That's for sure,' Chloe agreed.
Just then Gail's phone rang. She turned away slightly from the group to take the call, and Chloe assumed it was Holly. Even though Gail spoke quietly, the emptiness and unusual quiet of the normally bustling walkway made it impossible not to hear her side of the conversation.
'Hey,' Gail said softly, 'yeah, I'm going to have to cancel tonight. We've caught a case. I'm at the Toronto Coach Terminal with Rodney now.'
She paused for a moment while Holly obviously said something.
'Interesting?' Gail relied, 'you're not going to believe it.'
Gail waited again before speaking.
'No, not a severed head,' she rolled her eyes, 'it's a body in a suitcase.'
Again Gail waited a beat and then gave a little laugh. 'Okay, I'll prove it.'
With that Gail stepped forward and took a photo of the suitcase. Almost immediately the assembled group heard the whooshing sound as she hit send. Rodney coughed. Natasha looked curious and Wilson's expression was one of disapproval. Gail noticed none of this. She was too busy looking at her phone but Chloe observed it all and wondered if Wilson was going to make trouble. Gail pocketed the phone and turned her full focus on Rodney.
'I know you won't want to commit on time of death until you get back to the morgue, but can you give us a ball park figure?' she asked.
'Two, maybe three days. Rigor mortis has passed but from the odor I'd guess decomposition is underway.'
Gail nodded. 'We'll need the CCTV footage for this walkway from the last few days. Detective Price, can you ask the terminal manager for that? Anything else you can tell us, Dr Carlowski?'
'No, not until we do the post mortem, Detective.'
After that Gail and Chloe went to interview the terminal employees. There were 14 counter staff as well as another cleaner and an assistant manager, and the guy who ran a small shop in the terminal selling food and drinks and magazine. None of them had noticed anyone or anything suspicious or even faintly out of the ordinary in the last few days. That was apart from the usual disgruntled passengers frustrated with lengthy wait times or complaining about last minute timetable changes or lost luggage.
The terminal was built in the 1930s and, despite a renovation nearly 30 years ago, was clearly not large enough for the volume of passengers it now served. The place was jam packed with irritable passengers, queued in endless lines or propped against any available wall space; a lucky few had snagged grimy plastic chairs. Art deco in style, it might once have been quite an impressive building but now it was shabby with neglect and haphazard attempts at modernization. The manager let the Gail and Chloe use his office for the interviews.
'This is the afternoon shift. We're open from 6am to midnight so we've got another 36 on the books, including casuals,' he said, 'and two on the afternoon shift called in sick today.'
'I'll need a list of their names with contact numbers and addresses.' Gail said, thinking she'd have to pull in some uniforms to help conduct the interviews. 'Any chance you'd have a record of all the drivers who have come in and out of the terminal in the last few days.'
'No. The drivers' schedules are handled by head office. I could get hold of them for you though. You don't think it could be a driver?'
'At this point we can't rule anyone in or out,' Gail explained, thinking it was like looking for a needle in a haystack given the thousands who passed through the terminal each day. 'Hopefully we'll have a better idea once we review the CCTV footage.'
…
Holly was waiting in the autopsy suite when Rodney arrived with the two interns in tow.
'Dr Stewart, you're back,' Rodney said. He was not in the least surprised to see his boss, even though she wasn't expected back at work until the following morning. He'd guessed it was Holly that Gail was speaking to back at the coach terminal.
'Yes, I came straight here from the airport when I heard, dare I say it, what you'd bagged.'
'Not you too! Detective Peck's been regaling us with suitcase related puns all afternoon,' Rodney shook his head.
'I can imagine,' Holly smiled.
'Do all detectives act like at crime scenes?' Wilson asked. There was a belligerence to his tone that Holly didn't like very much.
'Act like what?' Holly scrunched her face slightly as if not understanding.
'Apart from the insensitive jokes, Detective Peck took a photo of the victim and sent it to someone she was speaking to on the phone at the crime scene. I did expect the cops to at least have a rudimentary understanding of medical jurisprudence.'
Holly sighed. Dr Wilson Wilson. When Gail heard that she told Holly some parents shouldn't be allowed to name their own children or at least be forced to get a license to name.
Holly had burst out laughing and Gail said the comment wasn't that funny.
'No, it's just I expected you to say parents should be forced to get a license to breed.'
'If that were the case, Holly, I wouldn't be here,' Gail retorted. Holly had given her a sympathetic look, knowing the hurt that lay beneath the flippancy.
Now Dr Wilson stood before Holly all puffed up with indignation and waiting for her to respond. To be honest she'd hadn't been that taken by Dr Wilson. Too much of a stickler for the rules, but Dr Carral had been impressed by his outstanding academic record and was convinced Wilson would loosen up with time. Hard to argue with the boss, though Holly had a sinking feeling that perhaps she should have. She took a calming breath and then chose her words carefully.
'I appreciate your concern, Dr Wilson but the fact is Detective Peck sent that photo to me. That's why I'm here for the autopsy.'
Wilson looked surprised at this. Holly tried not to be irritated. After all he was inexperienced and the reality of a crime scene was very different to the theory, and not just because it bore witness to the brutality and violence that some people were capable of.
Interns were sometimes surprised, even shocked, that crime scenes were not always hushed and somber places; that over a dead body the police and the forensic team could share a joke, swap stories about their kids or the game on the weekend and grumble about the gridlock getting to work. Holly knew all too well that these reminders of the everyday acted as a counterpoint to the gruesome and sometimes depraved things they were forced to see and examine and process at crime scenes. Without this exchange of banalities many of them couldn't keep doing this job day in day out.
'I think you will find that Detective Peck is an extremely dedicated and professional police officer who cares very much about getting justice for victims,' Holly said, reminding herself that Wilson was just an intern and trying very hard to be patient, 'and I can assure you she is well-versed in medical jurisprudence.'
As she finished speaking, Holly caught the look of dismay on Rodney's face. She knew Rodney felt a great sense of loyalty not just to her but also to Gail, with whom he'd somewhat unexpectedly formed a work friendship. As well, Rodney was such a fair-minded and decent man he would probably also feel badly for Wilson, who had unwittingly put his foot in it. Rodney hated conflict. The thumb incident had made that obvious.
Natasha was standing to the side of her, so Holly couldn't see how she was reacting. After that fiasco with Gail that night in the bar when Lisa had dragged Holly along to have drinks with Natasha and her cousin, Holly wasn't sure what Natasha knew or had figured out about her and Gail's relationship. She decided it wouldn't be helpful asking Lisa, who was sure to deliberately say something to make Holly worry. Besides nothing came of Lisa's flirtation with the cousin so chances were she knew nothing about what Natasha had picked up.
'So you haven't had a problem with Detective Peck's attitude? You've worked with her before?' Wilson persisted.
Holly suppressed a smile at this. 'Yes, I know Detective Peck very well and no I have had no problems with her work. The gallows humor is a coping mechanism, one that is often used by people like the police and forensic teams who regularly encounter these horrors. Studies have shown this type of humor can help first responders integrate a traumatic event and so allow them to perform their job.'
Wilson didn't say anything but instead made a strange little movement of his lips as if silently demurring.
'Now,' Holly said as the suitcase was wheeled into the suite on a gurney, 'I suggest we start the autopsy. The sooner we determine what happened to this woman the sooner the police can arrest the sick individual who did this.'
By the time Gail and Chloe arrived at the morgue, Holly and Rodney had extracted the body from the suitcase and the autopsy was well underway.
'Couldn't keep away, Dr Stewart,' Gail said, somewhat amused and doing a very good job of concealing her delight at seeing her girlfriend.
'Wasn't that your intention when you sent me the photo, Detective Peck.' Holly smiled briefly and then returned her attention to the body. The organs had been removed, including the heart and brain, and Holly was in the process of examining the victim's neck.
'Wouldn't want you to miss the opportunity of unpacking this case, Dr Stewart,' Gail's lips quirked faintly, 'you know that thing people say when their friends go on holidays - is there room for me in your suitcase - maybe the killer took that literally.'
'I somehow doubt she was a stowaway, Detective Peck,' Holly said, sounding faintly amused, 'and I think it might be time to put a lid on your truly awful suitcase puns.'
'They weren't that bad,' Gail grumbled, but she wasn't actually offended, 'anyway I just thought you'd be curious.'
'Definitely piqued my curiosity,' Holly smiled, 'much to Dr Carlowski's chagrin.'
'No, no, happy to share this one,' Rodney held up his hands in a mock gesture of supplication.
'The truth is after two weeks hanging around a courthouse I couldn't wait to do an autopsy.'
'That's a tad macabre isn't doctor,' Gail had a sly grin, 'I'm sure there are plenty of other more agreeable things you could be doing to celebrate your return.'
'Oh no doubt, Detective, no doubt.' This time Holly smiled directly at Gail. 'It's just good to be back at work. That said, I don't want anyone here thinking I hoped someone would die just so I could perform a post-mortem.'
As she finished speaking, Holly glanced across to Wilson, who looked back at her a touch uneasily. Gail followed Holly's gaze and wondered what that was about. The glance was brief but there was something pointed about it.
'Okay, Dr La Paige, Dr Wilson' Holly said, 'I'm removing the larynx including the hyoid bone, and I'm keeping the tongue attached. What should I be looking for?'
'Given it appears that the victim was strangled rather than suffocated, would you look to see if the hyoid bone is fractured,' Natasha was quick to respond.
'That only occurs in about a third of all cases of strangulation, but bingo! Have a look at this Dr LaPaige. A fractured hyoid bone.'
Natasha smiled and moved next to Holly to take a look. Gail wondered irritably if the intern really needed to get that close to Holly to examine the body. When she thought about it though it was exactly what she had done that first time in the lab with Holly, and that was before she had even twigged she had a thing for the pathologist. It had been as if she was subconsciously drawn to Holly. Given her general discomfort around people, that alone should have been a clue. Gail sighed. She knew she was being irrational about Natasha, but clearly the intern was angling to be teacher's pet.
Chloe gave her a small, understanding smile, and Gail had the distinct feeling the newly minted detective knew exactly what was going through her head. Was she that transparent, Gail wondered? Chloe did seem to have some sort of finely attuned sense when it came to other people's relationships. Maybe that's what came of being full of sunshine and rainbows and sappiness. Scowling slightly, Gail turned her attention back to the autopsy.
'What's the next step?' Holly was now asking.
'The superficial and deep musculature must be individually examined for contusion haemorrhage. Then we need to expose the laryngeal skeleton and examine it for fracture,' Natasha recited, a little smugly if you asked Gail.
'Very good,' Holly said, 'Dr LaPaige, Dr Wilson can you examine the neck musculature and tell me what you see.'
Despite feeling annoyed with Natasha, Gail could see that Holly was an excellent teacher. She alternated between carefully explaining each step and asking the interns what she should do next and why, and then she would supervise as they carried out that procedure. Throughout Holly was unfailingly patient and encouraging. Gail found herself enthralled.
Sometime later, when tissue and other samples had been taken, Holly turned to Gail and Chloe.
'She definitely died from strangulation rather than suffocation. Even though the plastic bag would have eventually cut off air supply, she was dead before that happened. As well as the marks left by the cord being tightened around the victim's neck and the hyoid bone fracture, hemorrhages in the strap muscles, under the skin, in the tissue around the trachea and larynx, and in the larynx and laryngeal structure itself all indicate strangulation.'
Gail smiled to herself. Holly couldn't help but get her nerd on. Really, she could just say it was strangulation and they'd believe her, but Holly liked to walk you through the autopsy. 'The body is a witness to the crime,' she had told Gail, 'the significance of something we discover during the autopsy may only become apparent in the course of your investigation, and if I'm not thorough in explaining my findings chances are you could miss that connection.' Holly was right of course. It was one of the things that made her so damn good at her job.
'We'll know more once the toxicology results are in,' Holly was saying, 'but I suspect she was drugged before the plastic bag was put over her head.'
'Why is that?' Chloe asked.
'There are no signs of a struggle. Nothing to suggest she tried to fight off her killer and she didn't claw at her neck to try and loosen the cord or pull off the plastic bag.'
'Aren't plastic bags sometimes used in cases of autoerotic asphyxiation?' Gail asked.
'Yes,' Holly said, 'but hypoxyphilia, as it's otherwise known, only involves one person, hence auto, and evidence suggests it's a practice confined mainly to men. However, it is not unknown for couples to use partial asphyxiation to heighten sexual experience – one partner strangles the other or puts a plastic bag over their head. When you rob your brain of oxygen you can experience a sort of high - euphoria, dizziness, even lowered inhibition.'
Gail made a face. 'How come you know so much about it?'
'My job, detective,' Holly said drily, 'and I had a case involving this in San Francisco. With this kind of sexual paraphilia it's easy to go too far. It can also trigger a heart attack, so even if the partner loosens the tie or removes the plastic bag, it can be too late. But we're not looking at anything like that here. She was pregnant but there are no signs of recent sexual activity, which also means we can probably rule out sexual assault. However, she has a bruise across her left cheek. Consistent with being slapped very hard.'
'So that happened before she died?' Gail asked.
'Yes, bruises are caused by blood leaking from injured blood vessels so it is very difficult to produce a contusion on a corpse.'
'Because the blood has stopped flowing,' Gail finished for Holly.
'Exactly.'
'So if the killer strangled her, what was the purpose of the plastic bag?' Gail asked.
'Perhaps the killer planned to suffocate her, but once they put the cord around the victim's neck to tie the bag they decided it would be quicker or just as easy to strangle her.'
'If she was drugged, that means it was probably pre-meditated?' Chloe asked.
'Most likely,' Holly agreed.
'And we could be looking at a killer who is either male or female?' Chloe said
'Yes, particularly if she was incapacitated. However, while she didn't weigh much – 55 kilos – you'd still need to be fairly strong to lift the suitcase into the locker, especially as I believe the locker was in the second row up.'
Gail and Chloe nodded.
'Strangulation isn't usually the go to method in premeditated murders. It normally occurs when people are in a frenzy or overcome by uncontrollable rage,' Gail said, 'so is it possible that the killer intended suffocating her, but then, I don't know, something about the victim triggered something in the killer, made them rageful enough to strangle her instead?'
'I wouldn't rule it out,' Holly said, 'strangulation, as you know, involves a great deal of force. Someone was angry enough with the victim to slap her before she died. Maybe that same person killed her.'
'Hmm,' Gail said as if this had given her food for thought, 'So how long ago was she killed?'
'Rigor mortis has subsided and the body is in the first stage of putrefaction, so I'd say two to three days. The body temperature was the same as the ambient temperature in the terminal walkway so my guess is she was in the locker for a at least a day before she was discovered.'
'So she would have been placed in the suitcase not long after she was killed?' Chloe asked.
'Yes, the lividity, the way the blood has pooled in the body, indicates that.'
'Any identifying marks, besides the tattoo.' Gail gestured to an intricate design that covered most of upper side of the victim's left foot.
The tattoo was circular in shape and pleasing symmetrical, like something you might see in a kaleidoscope. At the very center of the tattoo was an eye surrounded by ever widening geometrical patterns, a little like petals fanning out, each layer with its own elaborate detailing.
'You noticed that,' Holly said, 'it reminds me of Mehndi, the henna tattoos Indian and Pakistani brides get before their wedding. Although in this case the tattoo is permanent. My guess is her ethnicity is either Indian or Pakistani, so the tattoo fits.'
'It looks like a mandala. In Hindu and Buddhist symbolism the mandala represents the universe,' Gail said.
She had moved to examine the tattoo more closely and so missed the look of surprise that passed between Wilson and Natasha. Holly, however, caught it and was not impressed. Was it so remarkable that a detective would be smart and knowledgeable? Was she extra sensitive because it was Gail? Still, she made a note to instill in Wilson and Natasha the importance of maintaining a good working relationship with the police.
'Well, hopefully the tattoo and her ethnicity will help in identifying her, especially if she's been reported missing,' Holly said, focusing her attention back on Gail. 'Apart from that she has an old appendix scar. My guess is it was taken out in her early teens. We'll see if we can get a match with her dental records.'
Gail nodded.
'When do you expect to have the toxicology report?'
'We've sent them to the toxicologist but it's late now so not until tomorrow. We also found dog hairs on the victim's clothing so we'll test them. Perhaps she or the killer owns a dog. We'll also see what we can get from the cord and the plastic bag and the suitcase itself. If we're lucky we might get prints.'
After that Holly told Wilson and Natasha to take a break. She estimated it would take at least another hour to complete the autopsy. Rodney and the lab tech went to one corner of the room and began to meticulously record all the samples that had been taken from the body, and to double check that each had been labeled correctly with the autopsy identification number, the date and time the specimen was collected and from which part of the body. Gail and Chloe hung back with Holly after the interns left.
'Any indication the victim was married?' Gail asked.
No,' Holly shook her head, 'she wasn't wearing a wedding ring and there was no mark where one might have been. Why? Do you think it's important?'
'It may not be,' Gail chewed at her lip, 'I'm just trying to get a full picture.'
'Except that husbands are usually the first suspects we look at,' Chloe said.
'Well, if you listened to Frankie husbands and wives would be the only suspects we considered,' Gail gave a dismissive laugh.
'Has that got something to do with Frankie's allergy to relationships?' Holly asked.
'You really are very perceptive Dr Stewart,' Gail said, unable to stop the flirtatious edge in her voice.
'Frankie of course has a theory that most couples are ready to murder one another within a year of getting married,' Chloe said.
'And then one day one of them wakes up and realizes they don't like the way their spouse chews their food or how they always leave the lid off the toothpaste, and it will be enough to send them into a homicidal frenzy.'
'Okay then,' Holly said, clearly amused, 'so based on Detective Anderson's theory, the key to a long life is to avoid marriage.'
'Something like that,' Gail said, 'so now we've got that figured out, Chloe and I better head back to 15. Work out where to go from here.'
Exiting the room, Gail spied Wilson and Natasha by the snack machine in the middle of the corridor. The interns were caught up in an animated discussion and so didn't observe the detectives leave the autopsy suite or hear them approach.
'You're a brave man, Wilson. Complaining about Detective Peck,' Natasha was saying.
'What do you mean?'
'Well, remember the Superintendent we met the other day. The scary one.'
Wilson nodded. The Superintendent had made him feel rather small and inconsequential and he stumbled badly when she'd barked out a simple question about medical jurisprudence.
'What's she got to do with, oh of course Superintendent Peck,' he said, as he remembered her name.
'Only Detective Peck's mother. There are Pecks throughout the force in Toronto. They are like police royalty. A few years back a couple of them were booted out for disgrace but apparently the Pecks are still a big deal around here.'
'That makes it even worse. Detective Peck shouldn't get away with that behavior just because of her connections,' Wilson said primly, 'I would have expected a homicide detective to take her job more seriously.'
'Wilson you're over reacting. It's like Dr Stewart said – gallows humor – Detective Peck seemed to know what she was doing and from the questions she asked during the autopsy it's clear she knows a lot about forensics. So I'd just let it go.'
When Wilson didn't say anything, Natasha nudged him gently in the arm.
'You've got to admit Detective Peck is hot,' she said.
'So we don't hold people to the same standards just because they're attractive.'
'You need to lighten up, Wilson,' Natasha said good-naturedly. 'Anyway if Dr Stewart took your complaint further it would probably go to Superintendent Peck. How do you think that's going to play out?'
'So you're saying the complaint would go nowhere. That sounds a lot like corruption. At the very least nepotism.'
'No, I didn't say that. It's just would you want to put someone as formidable as Superintendent Peck offside. I mean you want a career in forensics after this internship, don't you?'
Wilson nodded. He finally made his selection and retrieved a packet of chips from the machine. Natasha fed some coins into the slot and continued to speak as she picked out a health bar.
'Anyway, well, I probably shouldn't tell you this. It's gossip, but Detective Peck and Dr Stewart might have, or at least used to have,' Natasha abruptly stopped talking as she and Wilson turned and came face to face with Gail and Chloe.
'Dr Wilson, Dr LaPaige,' Gail said sweetly, pronouncing LaPaige with a faultless French accent, 'it's your first week at the morgue isn't it?'
The two interns nodded dumbly.
'A word of advice. It pays not to jump to conclusions.' Gail smiled. It was big and wide and entirely disingenuous. If either Wilson or Natasha thought for an instant that Gail was being friendly, the cool blue of her eyes told them otherwise. She gave a brusque nod and continued down the corridor.
'Well, I guess we'll be seeing a lot of you both, with this case and all,' Chloe said brightly, before she too took her leave.
'Shit,' Wilson exhaled a tightly held breath once Chloe was gone, 'I think I just killed my career.'
…..
When they got to the car, Chloe plucked the keys from Gail's hand.
'What the fuck, Price,' Gail snarled.
'I'm driving.' Chloe said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
'Jeez, Price I'm okay. I'm not bothered by what those idiots said,' Gail grumbled, but when she got into the passenger side of the car she punched the dashboard and then winced. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' Gail said as she examined her reddened knuckles.
'To be fair it was just Dr Wilson who was acting like a tool.'
'What did I ever do to him? He wants to lodge a complaint about me because he dislikes my jokes.'
'From what Natasha was saying, it sounds like Holly set him straight,' Chloe said gently.
'Fuck I hate being a Peck sometimes,' Gail said bitterly, choosing to ignore Chloe's reassuring words, 'no matter what I do someone always assumes I'm getting special treatment because of my last name, that or I'm corrupt.'
'Gail, people who work with you know that's not true.'
'Yeah,' Gail said doubtfully, 'and fuck I hate nosey interns. I need to change my last name. Maybe I should marry Holly and lose the Peck surname.'
Chloe laughed.
'Whoa, that's real romantic Gail. I can just imagine the proposal. I want to marry you so I can change my last name and stop nosey interns gossiping about me. I can really see Holly falling for that.'
Gail didn't say anything, but sunk into her seat, her arms crossed tightly and her expression sour.
'Besides, there is a major flaw in that plan. Aren't the nosey interns going to gossip even more if there is a Detective Stewart as well as a Doctor Stewart.'
'Humph, I thought you were meant to be the starry eyed champion of marriage.'
'Could you see yourself marrying Holly?' Chloe asked, suddenly serious.
'We are not doing this Chloe. I am not sharing. I hate nosey colleagues as much as I hate nosy interns,' Gail screwed up her face, 'Anyway, I swore off marriage after Nick. It's not for me.'
'But what if marriage is for Holly. What if she wants to get married.'
'Um,' Gail shook her head as if it were all too much to take in. 'We're still just dating, it's not – 'Gail waved her hand about, clearly floundering for what to say next.
'Don't say it's not serious because Gail I've never seen you so serious about anyone ever.'
'It's just, I dunno Price, why are you asking me all these questions? You and Dov have been a thing for much longer than me and Holly and I don't see you two getting married in a hurry.'
'Doesn't mean it won't happen someday,' Chloe shrugged, 'anyway I'm not suggesting you run out and propose to Holly right now. I just wondered if that was something you'd considered.'
'Chloe, I may have let you live in my house for the past year, but that does not mean we have reached a stage where we do girly talk and share our innermost thoughts and secrets. And don't take it personally, I don't do girly talk with anyone.'
'Oh, I know that Gail,' Chloe said cheerfully, as she swung the car into the parking lot at 15.
'Wait, why do you assume it will be me who proposes?' Gail asked.
Honestly, Gail hadn't considered that. That she'd be the one doing the asking. She didn't even know if Holly wanted to get married. It wasn't something they'd discussed. I mean they'd talked about a future together and even kids one day, but it hadn't even occurred to Gail that Holly might have factored marriage into the equation. Their relationship was going well, something Gail hardly dare admit, afraid that it might jinx it, and then what if something big like marriage threw all that off kilter.
Marriage certainly put an end to her and Nick. Although in hindsight that was a very good thing, Gail decided. For a brief moment she speculated about what would have happened if she had been married to Nick when she met Holly. Would she have ignored the obvious attraction to Holly? Nope, impossible. Anyway, she and Nick wouldn't have lasted that long.
'So you have thought about it,' Chloe teased, amused by the look of panic that crossed Gail's face and well aware she'd just sent Gail's brain whirring in all sorts of crazy directions. Really, for all Gail's apparent brashness, it was very easy to disconcert her.
'No,' Gail said adamantly, getting out of the car. 'We've got work to do so enough probing Price. And for the record I won't be asking you to be my bridesmaid.'
'Uh huh, you have so thought about this,' Chloe said, dancing away from the car before Gail could deny it, 'and Gail, if you and Holly think that whole Detective Doctor routine is fooling anyone who doesn't know about you two, you're kidding yourselves.'
'What? Price, what do you mean?' Gail said, but Chloe had already disappeared into the station. Shit, were she and Holly that obvious. Gail had believed they were doing a pretty good job of behaving professionally at work. Was Price trying to get a rise out of her? Surely not, Gail decided, that wasn't really something Chloe would normally do, not on purpose anyway.
…
There were no matches in the missing persons database. That would have been too easy, Gail thought. She and Chloe were at their desks. The detective pen was quiet at this hour. The night shift guys were conversing with a couple of uniforms, deciding if they should act on a tipoff about a drug shipment. The tip off had come from a gangbanger the uniforms had arrested for assault. Was the information solid, the detectives wanted to know, or was the gangbanger trying to worm his way out of a charge.
'What now?' Chloe asked, when their search of the database proved fruitless.
'We need to review the CCTV footage,' Gail decided, 'before we do anything else.'
'That's three days of footage,' Chloe pointed out, 'we'll be here all night.'
'Holly said the body was in the early stages of putrefaction and the janitor first noticed the smell coming from that locker yesterday afternoon. That means the suitcase was definitely there yesterday,' Gail said, apparently ignoring Chloe, 'so we just need to backtrack from yesterday afternoon.'
'That's still two days of footage.'
'Not necessarily. I know the plastic bag suggests the murder was premeditated but did the killer plan to dump the victim at the bus terminal? That part of the crime doesn't feel like it was really well thought out.'
'True,' Chloe agreed.
'So what if after murdering her, the killer, in a panic, shoves the body into a suitcase and then has to figure out how to dispose of it. It might have taken a few hours, even a day for them to decide how to do that. Which narrows it down considerably. I think the first thing we should do is look at the 24 hours before the janitor noticed the smell.'
'Okay,' Chloe said, 'I guess it's possible the killer put the body in a suitcase in order to remove her from the crime scene without being noticed. They may have had to wait for an opportune moment.'
'Good point,' Gail nodded, 'a suitcase is a great way to hide a body from nosey neighbors or even flat mates.'
Gail and Chloe spent the next two hours reviewing the footage. 'Thank God there's a fast forward button' Gail declared after the first hour, but still they were both feeling stiff and fatigued. They'd been on shift since 8 that morning and it was now close to 10 pm.
'I dunno Gail, maybe we should pick this up in the morning when we're fresher,' Chloe suggested.
'Just ten more minutes,' Gail insisted stubbornly, leaning forward to get a closer look at the screen.
They didn't need ten minutes. They didn't even need two. Literally only a moment passed before a figure appeared on the screen, wheeling a pink suitcase. He came from the street end of the walkway. From height and build, Gail guessed it was a man, although he was wearing a bulky jacket and his face was obscured by a hoody. He stopped in front of a screen built into the bank of lockers, but kept his body angled away from the camera so Gail and Chloe still couldn't make out his face. Then he made a selection on the locker screen and fed coins into a slot, before wheeling the suitcase back in the direction he had come until he reached the assigned locker. He lifted the suitcase up and into the locker.
'Bingo!' Gail said excitedly, pausing the footage.
'Bingo?' Chloe had to laugh. It wasn't an expression she'd heard Gail use before.
'Oh alright, alright,' Gail colored slightly, 'I've been hanging out with Holly too much. Now let's see if this guy shows his face.' She pressed play but the man kept on walking towards the street exit.
'Turn around, turn around,' Chloe intoned, but the man kept didn't look back and then he was through the doors and out on the street.
'Damn,' Gail said. She squinted at the time code on the screen. '10.05 am yesterday.' She rewound the video so they could take another look.
'It definitely looks like a man,' Chloe said and Gail nodded. 'Have a look at his trousers. Aren't they the same as the ones worn by the bus drivers. Grey with the single thin blue stripe.'
'God, you're right, Chloe.'
'That may be why he was so careful not to show his face. If he's familiar with the terminal, chances are he would know about the camera.'
'Okay, tomorrow we need to see if there are CCTV cameras on the street. Maybe we can catch him coming in and out of the building. We're going to need to go through all the footage from inside the terminal as well. The manager said they had surveillance cameras in the bus bays so we'll need that too.'
Chloe groaned at the thought. And sunk her head on the desk.
'Don't worry,' Gail grinned like a child you'd just been given a lollipop, 'that's what we have uniforms for. I'll get a couple of them to sift through the footage tomorrow.'
Chloe immediately brightened.
'Gail, the pink suitcase. I don't want to stereotype but it's pretty unusual for a guy to have a suitcase that color. Could it belong to the victim? And if so, are we looking at someone close to home, like the killer's wife.'
'Maybe,' Gail stood, 'let's finish up for tonight. I just need to put a request in for some uniforms to help us tomorrow, then we can head home.'
After submitting the request for more officers, Gail made her way back to the detective's pen. This was not how she had thought her evening would go. Still, even if she hadn't been able to spend very much of it with Holly, at least Holly was back. Gail hadn't anticipated just how much she'd miss her girlfriend. It was almost like a physical ache. She'd never experienced anything like that with her previous fact whenever they went away she was always grateful for the space, but not with Holly.
No, Holly's absence was keenly felt. And it wasn't just the sex, although God she'd missed that. It was having someone around who totally got her, and if for some reason Holly didn't understand she would patiently get Gail to explain until she did. Someone who, when needed, so nicely called Gail out on her shit. Someone who could see and even cherish the vulnerabilities that lay beneath her snark. Others had dismissed Gail as cold and unfeeling and so decided she wouldn't care if they stomped on her heart, but Holly knew otherwise. With Holly, Gail felt as if her heart was safeguarded, treasured even, and that Holly actually put her first. It dawned on Gail then that Holly found happiness in making her happy.
Every time Gail was separated from Holly she wondered anew at the depth of her own feelings for Holly. They never ran out of things to talk about, even if they did sometimes disagree, and quite often when they talked they were so absorbed, so captivated by the other, they lost all track of time, and Gail had never done that with anyone else. Being with Holly was just easy, there was no other word for it, Gail acknowledged with some amazement because she certainly hadn't been able to say that about any other relationship. It surprised Gail too how often she found herself day dreaming about Holly and that smile which alone was enough to make her feel warm and safe and happy and loved, oh so loved. She was someone, Gail realised with a jolt, who she wished would stick around forever. She had most definitely never felt that way about anyone else either
As she reached the end of the corridor, Gail heard her name being called out. She'd recognize that voice anywhere. Turning she saw Holly walking steadily towards her, a huge smile on her face, and Gail couldn't help beaming back.
'What are you doing here, Holly? Courier sick again?' Gail smirked.
Without a word, Holly took Gail by the hand and drew her through an open door and into the observation side of an interview room. Gail had a flash of that first time she had kissed Holly, when the pathologist had come to the station in a panic after she'd heard that some officers had been shot at.
Once in the room, Holly pulled the door shut and pushed Gail up against the wall, immediately moving to kiss her. Clearly she wasn't the only one who missed her girlfriend, Gail thought, as the kiss intensified. She moved one hand to Holly's cheek and the other just under her shirt to the small of her back, delighting in the smooth feel of her skin, breathing in that familiar and intoxicating smell that was uniquely Holly. Holly moaned and pressed against Gail, her own hand tugging at the front of Gail's shirt and then shifting under it, tracing a path up along the plane of her stomach to her breast. Gail kissed Holly harder which only served to spur Holly on just as Gail knew it would.
God, Gail thought, if they didn't stop soon they'd just have to have sex right here in this room. Which was not a good idea, not at work, not with Chloe down the corridor and any number of officers milling around, the sensible part of her brain, which remarkably was still working, told her. Gail was about to pull back, when Holly moved her hand to the top of her jeans, popping the button and pulling the zip down, and then pushed her fingers in to cup Gail's center. Gail gasped and all rational thought fled.
Then suddenly the room seemed to be flooded with light. For a moment Gail thought they had been discovered but then with relief she realized the light was coming through the glass from the interview room. She could see one of the detectives, who'd earlier been discussing the gangbanger's tipoff, handcuffing a suspect to the table.
'We need to get out of here,' Gail said, a touch of urgency in her voice.
Holly nodded and leaned in to zip Gail's jeans back up and fasten the button, pressing her hand lightly against Gail as she did so. Gail exhaled sharply.
'Not helping, Holly,' she said as Holly grinned somewhat wickedly, 'so what are you doing here, apart from a booty call?'
'I need a ride home. I went straight to the morgue from the airport so I don't have my car. I thought you might oblige,' Holly explained, taking a step back from Gail.
'Well,' Gail pretended to consider for a moment, 'only if we can take up where we just left off.'
'Oh that's a given,' Holly said, 'so Peck unless you want the entire station to hear you screaming out my name, I suggest you take me home right now.'
Holly found Gail's reaction to this suggestion endearingly comical. First her eyes widened for a moment at the thought of her colleagues overhearing her having sex with Holly and then almost immediately she started nodding enthusiastically at Holly's suggestion she take her home. This time it was Gail who took Holly's hand and led her out of the room.
